Sample cups are used with X-ray spectroscopic instrumentation to determine the characteristics or properties of various substances contained in the cups. The sample substances are disposed in a central chamber of a sample cup for analysis. The sample cup may include a thin film of material disposed across one end of the cup to retain the sample. The sample substance contained in the cup is subjected to analysis when X-ray beams impinge upon the thin film.
During analysis, the sample substance contained in a sample cup may escape or exude from the central chamber of the sample cup and into the X-ray analysis chamber, or onto an X-ray tube, an X-ray detector, and other electronics contained in the lower chamber of the X-ray instrument, causing damage to the X-ray tube and associated X-ray windows, X-ray detectors, and the electronics. In addition, the exuded sample substance may also cause contamination issues, costly cleanups, and non-productive down time.
There remains a need for a protection device for X-ray instrumentation that substantially eliminates the possibility of damage and contamination.